chapter 1

Henry crouched down beside the dead body examining the cold flesh, the skin having grown pale from the large amount of blood lost in such a short time. He curled his nose up in disgust as the stench of rotting flesh overwhelmed him. Unable to stand the horrible odour, he stood up, turning away from the scene. It was the fifth body he’d come to see within the space of a month, only one of the hundreds of murders that had been left unsolved over the past few years. They were all the same; sharp, clean cuts to the vital parts of the body with not a trace of the killer left behind. Henry let out a sigh as he walked out of the alleyway. Ever since he’d taken on this case, he’d begun to feel that his skills were inferior. He was once known as the rising star of the police force, yet his career had hit a dead end when he took up the ‘dawn’ case. The other detectives were quick to sympathise with him, for all the other officers who had taken up the case were either dead or in an early retirement. He didn’t think much of it at the time, but looking back on it now, he realised how naïve he had been.

Lay was standing off to the side outside the alleyway, interviewing the witness who had found the body. The old man was still in shock, his voice shaking as he recounted the morning’s events. Henry made his way over just as Lay finished.

“Thank you for your co-operation, Sir,” he said in a formal voice as he jotted down the last of his notes. Lay looked up at the man with a kind smile. “If you remember any more details, please do not hesitate to contact us.” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, handing it to the man. He took it somewhat reluctantly, nodding before he made his way off. Lay watched him walk away, a sad smile on his face.

Henry went to lean against their car, taking in large breaths of the fresh air to clear the stench of the dead body from his nose. Lay made his way to lean on the car next to him, letting out a tried sigh. Henry glanced over in his direction, already guessing as to the reason for his sigh. “Nothing useful?”

Lay shook his head. “Nope, nothing at all. He was just coming down the alleyway looking for stuff he could sell when he stumbled upon the dead body. That’s about it.” he let out another heavy sigh.

Henry smiled grimly. “Well, that’s to be expected with a ‘dawn’ victim. No trace of the ‘death god’ at all.”

Lay rolled his eyes at Henry’s last comment. “Please, don’t be so pessimistic. The morale on this case is bad enough as it is. We don’t need our head detective giving up hope.” he stood up from the car, giving her a slight punch to the shoulder. “Where’s the energetic, motivated young upstart who solved three murder cases in three months, one of them involving a high profile politician?”

henry couldn’t help but smile at his comment, feeling some of his old pride returning to him. It was true that he had achieved that and it was one of the reasons his superintendent had given him the ‘dawn’ case. Lay, noticing his small smile, grinned even wider. he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Come on, Hyung let’s get out of here. We’ll let the forensics team sweep the place for clues while we get a cup of coffee. It seriously is too early to come and look at dead bodies.” Lay feigned a yawn as he stretched his arms, walking over to the passenger side of their car. Henry chuckled slightly at his antics as he shook his head. He could always rely on his partner to cheer him up. They had graduated from the academy together and ever since were always together as partners.

Turning around to open his door, the smile on his face was wiped off as he saw the white body bag of the dead man being carried out of the alleyway. His eyes never left the bag, the image and stench of the dead body still fresh in his mind. Entering his seat behind the wheel, he gripped the steering wheel firmly, his eyes hard. Lay, noticing his mood, decided to remain silent.

“I will find out who ‘dawn’ is,” he said with finality in his voice that revealed his determination in capturing the murderer. “I will.”
 

dawn was perhaps the most favoured member of the Syndicate. The Syndicate’s leader,smt had never held back the rewards he lavished on his most prized servant. Many others wondered how one man could earn the respect and favour of the most powerful and influential person in korea. Lee soo-man was a well known man, for he dealt in all walks of life from his legitimate multibillion dollar corporation to the various illegal trades of the black market.

Just outside of korea, smt had built his home, which he humbly called his mansion yet it was something more of a palace. He had many live-in employees, one of them being his favoured assassin, dawn. she lived in his home under the name of amber, as Lee soo-man personal secretary. Lee soo-man had given her a splendid room which looked over the fifty acre garden, all the way to the distant mountains. But amber wasn’t impressed. she had never felt anything for the empty beauty she woke up to see each day after the night’s cruel work. And it wasn’t as if she wasn’t aware of all the rumours that were circulating the social circles of upper class society, either.

Lee soo-man’s wife had died years ago from a terminal illness, which was said to have sent the Syndicate leader into a year of depression. It was around that time Amber had happened across him and the older man had taken her into his care. People began whispering behind their backs then, but as time went on, the rumours became nastier and more abundant. It was now common knowledge among them that Amber was believed to be Lee soo-man’s mistress, that he had only brought her under his care as he had seen how pretty she would grow up to be. Amber always turned a blind eye to such spiteful words; it didn’t mean anything to her. It wasn’t true so why should she care about the foul winds that emanated from their mouths?

amber was still deep asleep in her  bed, her satin gold quilt twisted in a mess about her spread out form. She wasn’t a motionless sleeper, always twisting and turning in bed in the throes of the nightmares that plagued her dreams. No matter how hard one tried to cut their emotional ties, their conscience always catches up in the subliminal messages that are sent to us in the form of dreams. It was there that amber was at her weakest, prey to her own unforgiving heart.

A soft knock sounded at the door, too quiet for amber to hear. Her nightmare had been long over and she lay perfectly still on her bed, a small crease on her brow. Few ever dared to knock on the fiery secretary’s door, as once she had sent a maid packing after throwing a vase at the poor girl for entering her room without permission.

Getting no response from the occupant of the room, the elderly maid decided to enter it on her own. She walked into the room, throwing the curtains wide open to let the late morning sunshine in. This still did nothing to stir amber out of her deep sleep. The maid peered over at amber desk, a small motherly smile spreading on her face as she noted the mess of paper sprawled around the place. She turned back to amber, shaking her head before giving her a firm slap on the back.

“Working all night again, amber?” she teased, earning a tired glare from amber.

“It’s you,sunmi” growled amber before burying her face back into her pillow. “It’s still too early,” she muttered, her voice muffled by the pillow.

“Nonsense, amber! It is almost ten thirty in the morning!” exclaimed the maid as she began shaking amber.

amber ignored her for a few minutes before succumbing to the older lady’s persistence. “Fine! I’ll get up now.” amber sat up in bed, sending an annoyed glance at her before storming off towards the bathroom with a yawn. sunmi was the only person in the house amber would allow to act with her in that fashion. Since she came to live at the smt mansion, sunmi had been the only one to put up with amber temper, eventually earning her respect. However, amber still kept up the pretence that she didn’t favour sunmi one bit.

sunmi began with her standard chores of fixing amber bed, along with selecting a suitable outfit for the day. She never went near amber desk, for it was off limits, even to someone she somewhat trusted like sunmi. The shelves nearby were also forbidden, and the old maid had often wondered why. There never seemed to be anything on the shelf that sunmi would have thought amber wouldn’t want anyone touching. It was understandable why the desk was off limits, but the shelves? All that occupied the shelves were numerous books and sculptures.

amber now returned from the bathroom, wearing a robe as as she threw her nightgown into a basket. She made her way over to the bed, hand drying her hair with a towel as she looked over the outfit sunmi had chosen for today. Satisfied, she headed towards her dresser where she began applying lotions and fixing her hair.

“Master Lee has left the message that you are to see him at his office in apgujeong-do. He also said that you could take your time, seeing as you would have been up all night working,” said the maid from behind amber.

amber smiled somewhat bitterly as she began fixing his hair. ‘Of course he knew I would have a late night.’

Looking at sunmi reflection in the mirror, amber said, “Send him the message that I will be arriving soon.” sunmi bowed and left the room.
 

After sunmi left, amber stopped brushing her hair as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Sometimes she wondered how her life would have turned out if she had never stumbled across Lee soo-man that fateful night ten years ago. Her hand went to her face as she touched her soft skin, achieved by years of looking after it with the expensive lotions mr lee had lavished on her. She was nothing more than an obedient pet to him. Suddenly, she threw the brush at the mirror, causing the polished glass to crack. Her reflection stared back at her fractured, just as was her nature. amber had never wanted to be a killer. She didn’t want this pampered, two-sided life. If only her mother had never married that man…

amber shook herself away from that train of thought. It was no use remembering the past, longing for what could not be. Lee soo-man was waiting for her. She cleared her mind as she went to get dressed. Once she was satisfied with the way she looked, amber picked up her handbag and her file, making her way outside. As she reached the main hallway, she passed a lone servant who was busy polishing the floor. amber came to a stop beside the girl and she saw her visibly stiffen. She smiled in a cold, off-handed way, glancing away from the servant.

“I need a new mirror in my room. Make sure it’s there by the time I get back.” amber then left the servant to quiver on the spot, thanking the gods that she was still alive.

tbc.

Well? What do you guys think? I wasn't going to post the first chapter up today, but I thought I should let my readers know a bit more about the story. Hmm... I'll drop a little hint about the next chapter. We'll find out a bit more about amber past. That's all I'm going to say.